Disconnections or Internet Drop Outs

If your broadband keeps disconnecting, there could be a number of reasons that could be causing this concern. It is crucial to complete testing to isolate the reason behind your disconnections.

What type of disconnections are occurring?

Before we can begin troubleshooting your internet disconnections, we must determine the exact kind of internet disruptions you are facing. This process will help determine the necessary steps required to fully restore your internet services to their maximum capabilities.

Connect an ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports on the back of your modem and the other end to the ethernet plug on your computer. Test the performance again and see if your connection continues to disconnect.

f you continue experiencing disconnections, we recommend testing another ethernet cable as well as another computer.

This test will help determine the kind of disconnections you are experiencing.

If you only experience disconnections over Wi-Fi and not over ethernet, you are experiencing wireless inteference. Please refer to the Wireless Support section of this article.

If you continue to experience disconnections over ethernet, refer to the Broadband Disconnectionssection of this article.

Broadband Disconnections

In this case the primary cause of your disconnections appears to be connection or equipment related. To troubleshoot and successfully resolve these sorts of disconnections, we recommend completing an isolation test. Instructions on completing this test have been provided below.

Unplug all phones, modems, filters or any other devices from all jackpoints in your home.

Test your modem directly plugged into each jackpoint in your home without the use of a filter. Check your internet performance at each jackpoint and see if it improves. Monitor disconnections at each jackpoint for 1-2 hours.

If you continue to experience disconnections at each jackpoint, we recommend testing another modem or testing your modem at another connection. This will rule out your modem as being behind the cause of your disconnections.

During this test, please do not use your homeline as it will interfere with the broadband service. If you complete this test and the disconnections still do not improve, we recommend contacting our Support team.

Wireless Support

If you notice that you only experience disconnections over Wi-Fi and not over an ethernet connection, you are most likely experiencing wireless interference. The tips below will help improve your wireless reception as well as steps on how to improve your modem Wi-Fi capabilities.

Metal objects such as fridges, microwaves and washing machines can cause wireless interference. Household appliances operating on the same frequency as your modem can negatively impact your wireless experience. We recommend checking to see if your connection is stronger when devices such as microwaves, cordless phones and security cameras are off.

Physical location of the modem is absolutely critical to the delivery of the Wi-Fi service experienced on your devices. Do not place the modem in cupboards, under beds, on top or fridges of microwaves and avoid it being hidden behind the TV or TV stands. The best location of the modem is up high and in a central location in the home.

The number of users on your Wi-Fi network will also impact the experience of this service. Lower amount of devices connected, will lead to a superior internet experience.

Maximizing your Wi-Fi Performance

This guide looks at implementing settings into your modem to maximize your wireless reception and quality. Please note that the concepts can be applied to any modem although the instructions are for a Netcomm modem.

Changing the Wi-Fi channel of your modem and adjusting the frequency can help avoid interference from other devices and help boost your Wi-Fi signal quality.